January 25, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2019
UA BOARD OF REGENTS INVITE UAA EDUCATION STUDENTS TO A SPECIAL SESSION TO HEAR CONCERNS,
DISCUSS SOLUTIONS
ANCHORAGE -- The University of Alaska’s Board of Regents plans to meet with UAA education students
on Feb. 12 to hear directly from them about their educational concerns. The board
expressed its wish to meet with the students after hearing a briefing Jan. 18 from
UA President Jim Johnsen and UAA Chancellor Cathy Sandeen on the factors that contributed
to the loss of several programs’ accreditation in UAA’s School of Education.
“Regents want to hear directly from students about their needs, and share with them
some options that could assist students in the affected programs,” said UA President
Jim Johnsen.
“We need to ensure that the actions we ultimately will take are meaningful and address
the needs of these students,” said Board Chair John Davies.
The meeting is set for Feb. 12 in Anchorage from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. in the Wendy Williamson
Auditorium on the UAA campus. Regents invite all students to attend to talk about
their status, concerns and possible solutions. The board plans to consider a range
of options to assist affected students at its regularly scheduled meeting on Feb.
28.
In an open apology to students, UA President Jim Johnsen said, “We dropped the ball
on arguably the single most important responsibility we have, which is to provide
students with high quality accredited programs. I personally apologize to students
for this failure and breach of trust, and I will support the new team that Chancellor
Sandeen has put together as we do everything possible to assist affected students.”
Johnsen’s personal apology letter to School of Ed students can be found at: https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/school-of-education/_documents/Johnsen%20SOE%20letterA.pdf
Johnsen will testify before the Senate Education Committee on Feb. 5. Hearing dates/topics
can be found at: https://www.360north.org/watch/#page=schedule&day=20190123&provider=Broadcast
Other important Board of Regents meeting dates include:
Feb. 19: The board will hold a statewide public call-in to hear from those around
the state on this and other issues.
[Call to testify at 1-866-726-0757 or listen to the livestream at http://kuacii.streamon.fm/]
Feb. 21: A meeting of the board’s Academic and Student Affairs committee will consider
mid/long range options for the UAA School of Education [committee materials will be
posted on 2/14]
Feb. 28: The board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting and will consider the
mid/long range options discussed at the Academic and Student Affairs Committee.
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For more information, contact Roberta Graham, associate vice president of public affairs
at 907-360-2416 (cell).
NR3-19